Barcelona reportedly instructed Robert Lewandowski to “stop scoring goals” towards the end of his inaugural season with the LaLiga champions for an unexpected reason.
This revelation comes from a newly published biography that unveils behind-the-scenes events as the 2022-23 season concluded.
Author Sebastian Staszewski, in his book “Lewandowski. Prawdziwy” (“Lewandowski. The Real One”), claims that the club asked the striker to hold back on scoring.
The conversation is said to have taken place after the Catalans secured the championship under Xavi Hernandez, with two matches remaining.
According to Staszewski, Lewandowski was summoned for a discussion with top executives.
At that point, Lewandowski was leading the scoring table with 23 goals, ahead of his rivals.
“Robert, we need you to stop scoring goals in the last two matches,” a board member reportedly stated.
The reason was not tactical but financial. If Lewandowski reached 25 league goals, Barcelona would owe Bayern Munich an additional €2.5 million in performance-related add-ons from his transfer.
